From 1988 to 1993 the S.S.T. band or Sega Sound Team was Sega's in house band that performed rock versions of Sega's arcade hits for compilation albums or Japanese festivals. Join us as we take a look at at the S.S.T. band and their legacy.

The S.S.T. band included keyboardists Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Katsuhiro Hayashi, and Kimitaka Matsumae; guitarists Koichi Namiki and Jouji Iijima; bassists Sachio Ogawa and Shingo Komori; and drummer Takehiko Tanabe. In 1990 Kawaguchi and Komon left the band and were replaced by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi on keyboards and Masato Saito on bass.

Most of these albums that were released would consists of two especially recorded versions of the game soundtrack and the rest would consist of the game's original soundtrack. After the group split, the members resumed work on Sega projects. Mitsuyoshi composed the soundtrack to Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA and the two installments of Shenmue, while Matsumae would be involved in Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 3.

Let's listen to some of S.S.T.'s work:

Space Harrier Main Theme (Arrange) - This arrangement reminds of some something I might hear from Yellow Magic Orchestra with the heavy use of synthesizers and drum samples. Listening to this brings me back to the synthpop days of the 1980s.

Space Harrier (Arrange)

Wilderness / Golden Axe (Arrange) - This arrangement of You Takada's Golden Axe intro kicks off hard on the guitar and continues with a fast paced delivery that is perfect for clapping along with.

Golden Axe Wilderness (Arrange)

Magical Sound Shower (Arrange) - This song is ingrained in to almost every game's head. This arrangement starts the beat out slow with percussion picks up a little bass and treble, and then proceeds to shift into high gear. I've heard a lot of arrangements for Magical Sound Shower and this is one of my favorites.

Magical Sound Shower (Arrange)

I hope you've enjoyed this look at the S.S.T. band. Their arrangements have breathed new life into familiar melodies and I hope a reunion tour is in the works. I couldn't think of a better send off than the opening of After Burner.

It's really cool to see that this stuff was happening, even way back in the 80's. This has also made me realize that even though I was a child of the arcades (at least until 1989), it seems most of the distributors in my area didn't really like Sega games, as these songs don't really sound all that familiar. Oh well. Now I've got something "new" to listen to. Thanks. Also, thanks for delivering on some serious 80's appeal (love the sun glasses and bandannas; it really brings me back).

I'm really only familiar with the After Burner track, but I agree with bombatomba. It's great to see games music get this kind of treatment. I'd love to see the same thing here in the states. Most of our game music shows come in the form of orchestral concerts, and that's great, I'd hate to see that go away. But it would be really cool to see game music shows here that we're more like traditional rock concerts. Or maybe we do have them and I'm just not aware?

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